Some call Donald Trump’s election “unexpected” and even “a miracle,” but once he becomes president on January 20, the hard work of governing really begins.

Of the many tasks on Trump’s plate is getting his all-important Cabinet appointees approved by Congress. In theory, this should be easy, because the Republicans have majorities in the House and the Senate.

Trump also has millions of supporters who will make their displeasure very clear if they feel Congress is stonewalling his choices.

However, some observers say that the Democrats are planning to stall the confirmation process for as long as possible by targeting eight appointees in particular.

Ed O’Keefe reports for the Washington Post:

Schumer has told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that Democrats will home in especially on Tillerson; Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), his pick for attorney general; Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget; and Betsy DeVos, selected to serve as education secretary.

There’s also Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and oversee changes to Obamacare, who is expected to be attacked by Democrats for his support for privatizing Medicare. Andrew Puzder, a restaurant executive set to serve as labor secretary, will face scrutiny for past comments on the minimum wage, among other policies. Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner set to serve as treasury secretary, and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, will also be the focus of Democratic attacks, aides said.

Notably absent from this “hit list” is retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, Trump’s choice for defense secretary; when he was announced, Trump fans cheered but also wondered if the outspoken Marine might make it through the hearings unscathed.

Senate confirmation hearings begin next week. Schumer has said he wants each candidate to undergo two days of interrogation, to make time for “witnesses” who can “speak to the pick’s past record.”

Let’s hope these hearings don’t turn into a rerun of those witnessed during the days of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. Those circuses proved beyond doubt that the Democrats are willing to stop at nothing to try to prevent a president they don’t like from making appointments.